LDS Plan of Salvation: From Spirit to Eternity

The Plan of Salvation explains where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going—it is the framework for understanding all of God's dealings with mankind. The Plan of Happiness, as it is also called, encompasses pre-mortal life where we lived as spirit children of God before coming to earth, mortality as a necessary time to gain a physical body and be tested, and our eternal destiny after death and resurrection.

Before This Life: The Pre-Mortal Existence

Before mortality, Latter-day Saints believe we lived in the presence of God as spirit children, where Christ proposed a plan to bring us to earth. Lucifer rebelled against the plan and was cast out with one-third of the spirit hosts, becoming Satan. This pre-mortal war in heaven is referenced in Revelation 12:7-9. Those who kept their first estate were permitted to come to earth (Abraham 3:24-26).

Mortal Life: The Purpose of Earth

Mortality is the testing ground. Latter-day Saints believe we come to earth to receive a body, gain experience, and prove whether we will keep God's commandments. 2 Nephi 2:25 states, "Men are that they might have joy," and the trials of mortality are meant to refine and develop us. We are expected to make covenants—promises—at baptism and in the temple, and to keep God's law through faith in Jesus Christ.

After Death: The Spirit World

At death, the spirit separates from the body and goes to the spirit world. There are two places: paradise, where faithful saints await resurrection in peace, and the spirit prison, where those who did not accept the gospel are taught by missionaries in the spirit world. This is how the church explains missionary work for the dead and baptism for the dead.

The Resurrection and Final Judgment

All mankind will be resurrected. Christ's Atonement—His suffering in Gethsemane, death on the cross, and resurrection—makes universal resurrection possible. Doctrine and Covenants 76 records a vision given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon describing three degrees of glory, or kingdoms, where the resurrected will dwell according to their works.

The Three Degrees of Glory

The Celestial Kingdom is the highest and most glorious—it is the kingdom of God, where the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost dwell. Only those who have made and kept sacred temple covenants and lived faith in Christ may dwell there. They will have the privilege of living with God and Jesus Christ and of having eternal increase—which includes eternal families.

The Terrestrial Kingdom is a good place, reserved for honorable people who did not accept the gospel in this life but will receive it in the spirit world. Many good people of other faiths will dwell there. The Telestial Kingdom is the lowest but still a place of glory—many people will dwell there, but it is reserved for those who would not accept Christ's gospel and lived lives contrary to His law.

Sons of Perdition are a special case. These are people who received a manifestation of the Holy Ghost, fully understood truth, and then rebelled against God. They will not dwell in any kingdom of glory but will be cast out with Satan. This is an extremely rare condition; church leaders rarely name anyone as such.

The Plan of Salvation testifies that Jesus Christ is central to all of God's work. His Atonement paid the price of sin, breaking the bands of death, and making it possible for all to be resurrected and judged fairly. Alma 34:9 teaches that Christ would come to take upon Himself the transgressions of all mankind. Without His Atonement, the plan could not work.